Commercial Lock Overview

Mortise Locks get their name from the fact that the lock body is mortised into the edge of the door. Mortise locks can come with or without a deadbolt included within the lock. This example shows a deadbolt above the latches.

Although expensive, these locks are extremely heavy duty.

The cylinder used in these locks is called a mortise cylinder. The good news is that these cylinder types are standardized. If you have a Yale lock, for example, you may use a Schlage cylinder, a Corbin Russwin cylinder or any brand of cylinder you like. That is one reason most mortise locks are sold less cylinder.

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Cylindrical Locks

Cylindrical locks are mounted to the door by a cylindrical bore hole drilled through the door. The center of this hole is 2-3/4” from the edge of the door and this distance is called the backset.

Locks are graded as Grade 1, 2 or 3 with Grade 1 the heaviest duty. All the materials used and component parts are much stronger in a Grade 1 lock than the other grades.

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Deadbolts

Though simple in design, deadbolts are the most confusing of all lock types. This is because they use several different hole sizes to mount (depending upon model), can take any of several types of cylinders and may come with a standard rigid bolt or spring latch instead. In short, not much is standardized when it comes to deadbolts.

To avoid surprises do your homework before ordering a deadbolt. Of all the lock types, deadbolts are mis-ordered the most often.